Essiac Tea Side Effects and Cautions

Essiac Tea Side Effects and Cautions

Essiac tea is generally regarded as being benign concerning side effects, except for standard caution that anyone pregnant or nursing should not use it (which applies to any dietary herbal supplement). People react differently to pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, while some users experience adverse side effects, others have no problems or side effects at all. Possible side effects of taking the tea are possible, but not probable. As with any herbal supplement, you should consult with your physician before using essiac tea. They may have a good reason why you shouldn’t.

Anyone starting this tea should begin with very small doses, regardless of product directions.

Cynthia Olsen wrote in her book Essiac: A Native Herbal Cancer Remedy, 2nd Edition page 61,

Though side effects are rare when taking Essiac, there are three general ones:

Nausea and/or indigestion, generally caused by eating or drinking too soon before or after drinking the tea,

Intestinal or digestive discomfort, caused principally because as toxins dissolve, the body tries to eliminate them quickly,

An increase in the size of an existing tumor, caused by the metastasized cells gathering at the original site, before the tumor softens and reduces in size.

Sheila Snow wrote in her book Essence of Essiac on page 48,

Here are three possible causes of adverse reactions:

A full stomach of undigested food or consuming beverage just before taking the remedy, especially tea or coffee.

Waste materials build up in the body, it attempts to eliminate them all at once. This could create extreme discomfort in the digestive tract, occasionally to the point of vomiting.

A tumor may increase in size (as metastasized cells are gathered to original site) and could cause a blockage in some vulnerable area of the body before it softens and reduces in size.

“When any discomfort occurred, Rene always cautioned her patients to stop taking the decoction for several days until they felt better. Then they were told to begin again with just half an ounce every other day and gradually to increase the dose to one ounce each day. This usually corrected the problem.”

Water Intake

Other side effects, such as diarrhea, a mysterious lower-back kidney ache, flu-like symptoms or upset stomach may be caused by using too high of a dose and not drinking enough water. Anyone taking essiac tea should increase their water intake, due to its detoxification properties, which cause the release of toxins from tissues and blood, excreting them via the intestinal and urinary tracts. The toxins must be diluted as they are released from the body tissues or they become concentrated, causing stress on the liver and kidneys and leading to you not feeling well.

Hence, our advice to drink three of four quarts of plain water daily if you are taking any version of essiac tea. Unfortunately, please note that soda pop, juice, tea, coffee (which is diuretic) and other beverages do not count in that amount.

Allergy

You may be allergic to one (or more) of the essiac tea herbs if you become itchy, developing some itchy rash areas on your body, even itchy runny eyes, and / or you come down with an unaccountable case of hay-fever symptoms with sneezing, runny nose and eyes. Sheep sorrel is thought to be the allergen, according to noted researcher and author Mali Klein (who happens to be slightly allergic to it). Try cutting dosage way down or stop taking it for a while or stop altogether. Some people who take too much essiac tea for too long possibly could become finally very allergic to it.

If you have NO allergy symptoms from taking the tea, in our opinion you should stick to a reasonable dosage ranging from minimum of one ounce per day as a “tonic” to maximum of no more than six ounces tea per day for “illness”.

Diarrhea

According to Chris Corpening R.N. (A Nurse’s Herbal Tea),

“Diarrhea has been the main side effect I have seen, although it is not a common side effect. Gastrointestinal discomfort has also been reported to me on various occasions. According to herbal literature, turkey rhubarb is a laxative and if the body can not handle it, diarrhea will result. My advice to those experiencing diarrhea or discomfort is to cut the dosage down to 1oz a day (or stop entirely) until the problems resolve, then gradually get yourself back to taking original amount.”

Kidney Disease, Kidney Stones

If you have kidney disease or are prone to kidney stones, some sources advise not taking essiac tea because of the oxalic acid in sheep sorrel. Although using a small dosage amount shouldn’t cause problems, people with kidney problems should consult their doctor before using essiac tea.

Diabetes

With Obamacare in full effect, diabetics are privy to much better coverage as far as
healthcare is concerned. However, for those choosing to go the with the tea, there
are some precautions that should be taken. Diabetics who are insulin dependant may need to adjust their dosage, also those on anti-diabetes medications. All diabetics should monitor their blood sugar closely while on this tea. Some of the constituents in this tea can affect the way glucose and insulin are taken up in the cells and utilized. Many people find they need less medication while taking this tea. This is not always the case, but is worthy of mention.

“You need a stronger warning for diabetics. I have been a well regulated insulin dependent diabetic for over fifty years. I followed all directions for making and drinking at proper time. I got very nauseated and my blood sugar shot up to 284 four hours later.”

The comment-sender replied that the dosage direction of the dry herb blend he bought was 2 ounces twice a day (4 ounces total per day). Apparently his blood sugar shot up after the first 2 ounce dose.

This is worth repeating…. “When any discomfort occurred, Rene always cautioned her patients to stop taking the decoction for several days until they felt better. Then they were told to begin again with just half an ounce every other day and gradually to increase the dose to one ounce each day. This usually corrected the problem.”

So diabetics are advised to start with a tiny dose of 1/2 ounce tea (1 Tablespoon) every other day before gradually increasing dose to 1/2 ounce tea per day (1/2 Tablespoon twice a day) to 1 ounce tea per day (1 Tablespoon twice a day). Monitoring should reveal whether blood sugar level goes up or down.

Tips to Avoid Essiac Tea Side Effects

Start with a small dose at first to see how your body reacts.

Take the tea on an empty stomach. In the morning and before bed are good times.

Drink plenty of water to dilute toxins and help with removal.

Stick to a reasonable dose. Most essiac tea side effects are caused by taking too much. With the many variables in products, herbs and preparation, it’s ultimately up to you to decide whats best for your body.

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33 Comments

When i drink it, do i shake the bottle first or let the herbs says at the bottom? Also, do i dilute it in a coffee mug with hot water then sip it? Some say drink it after bottle is shaken and drink it straight. I am confused.

Took Essiac Tea for 3 weeks. Two oz of tea mixes with two oz. of water 3 times a day. I have a large tumor on my chest. I first notices the tumor to become larger – after a week or more it began to feel softer almost like a sponge. It began to get a red rash all around the tumor that itched and stung. I weakened the tea but t the redness did not fade. I then cut the tea out for about two weeks but redness still remained. What could be causing the redness and itching?

Donna Dean, do you suppose the tumor is healing? Are you working with a Naturopathic doctor or holistic doctor? Usually when something (cut, etc.) is healing, it itches. Why not start the tea up again and see how things progress. I personally never started with such a small dose. I began the tea with 3 oz. twice a day. But I do a coffee enema every day, too, to help with detoxing. I got my tea from Affordable Essiac Tea.com. It’s the 8 herb formula and it was recommended to me to start with 3 oz. or 4 oz. per day for maintenance, 3 oz. three days a day if ill, so I settled for the middle–3 oz. twice a day. Hope you continue the tea to see what happens and give us an update.

i have a noduale on my right lung i have been taking essiac tea from canada for 3 months. the noduale was 9 centermeters in november a new c t scan in april shows that it has grown to 14 centermetoers did the tea cause the increase in size if so will it shrink if i keep taking the tea. i take 2 oz am and 2 oz pm thankyou.

That’s interesting about the tumors, never heard that before. I have a tumor almost 1″ on my breast and 1 & 1/2 lymphnodes involved. I make essiac tea in old fashioned quart jar. Two tblsp to quart and 1/4 water. I drink a juice glass each day with my b17 capsule. Wonder if it sabatoges the b17?

I had my left kidney removed three weeks ago. There was a tumor the size of a baseball on it. I get the results of the biopsy tomorrow. Prior to that I was getting Intron treatment for melanoma. I am going to start the tea this evening. I will talk to my oncologist tomorrow about safety of it, but since the tumor is removed I should be okay? I am excited about its healing effects. I am a Christian and I feel like God led me to this tea thru a customer I encountered at my garage sale. I am Blessed and very grateful to her and her husband. He is also suffering from melanoma and has had healing results over the last fifteen years drinking Essiac tea. Im headed to the store now to buy container to store my tea in. I am confident I am going to be healed!!!!!!

Good morning,
I’m at my wits end. I had 1/4cup of essiac tea before breakfast and lunch about 6 weeks ago. I felt terrible so stopped. Since then I have had loose stools every morning not to mention I now have food intolerances that I never had before. It’s getting so I don’t want to eat as I get diahrea. Tomatoes, squash, meat and sometimes if I eat too many vegetables. I also cannot have my healthy smoothly anymore as it goes right through me. Any suggestions would be most helpful.
Thank you very much.

I began taking Essaic in a pill form, after being diagnosed with Fibroids. A week after taking two pills in the morning and two a night, I began to have hot flashes and daily spotting…This freaked me out! The women in my family have shared stories of going through menopause WITHOUT experiencing Hot Flashes! Could this be a possible side effect? I have stopped taking the pill all together… Because I hate that feeling. The spotting has subsided, as well as the hot flashes. They haven’t stopped, but are no where as severe. It only been six days since I stopped taking the supplement.

I started tea in Jan 31 2015…. Had 2cm tumor in breast..in march I stopped my breast was hot to touch..waited a month for it to go down. I tried a different supplier of tea, nothing happened so went back to orginial supplier herbal healer and been on it ever since.. Breast is Hugh..right feels like fluid in certain area..but large knot on side.. that entire breast and lymph nodes itch like crazy with a little pain.. I’m scared about the size because it is not the size of a baseball.. but I’m sticking with it to see if it half it out I die first.. my faith is pretty strong that I’m doing the right thing.. Took years for us to get this way so if it takes a couple of years to shrink the tumor well I’m good with that.. I will keep posting..

I have been on essiac about 8 weeks now and felt great at first much better and then suddenly i developed symptoms of low blood sugar – i have been on a mild dose where you make 1 tblsp of essiac to 2 tblsp of warm water once a day first thing in the morning, so why am suddenly experiencing these symptoms – I welcome your advice thank you 🙂 xx

I bought the book .. Essiac, a Native Herbal Cancer Remedy, by Cynthia Olsen. She doesn’t understand measurements. They are wrong and very misleading in the book . Why do I report this.. it cost me 200 bucks in bulk herbs that went to the garbage after following her recipe. Thank the gods of Star Trek i came across the correct measurements and now have made the tea correctly. I too have felt mild reactions , flushing and anxiousness when taking the tea but I don’t mind . Will see how it goes after a month on the tea. I wish everyone a healthy and wonderful life.

Hi Dave ~
Thank you for posting here and I sure got a kick out of your reference to Star Trek.
Can you share the correct measurements you mention in your 12/29/15 post above? 🙂
I hope? Hope you are doing well.. . ..

I find when I take the tea I feel suddenly very tired and sleepy. I’ve been on it a week now (beginning doses as recommended). Is this a detox effect? It lasts 3 or 4 hrs. I had colon cancer 2 yrs. ago (since removed, all clear) and I am pare-diabetic, if that makes a difference. Thank you!

Dear friends,
Essiac tea is one of the most potent detoxification combos ever discovered, hence the reason for multiple symptoms when dosages are too high or concentrated. I know this to be a fact as I have experimented.
Now let me start off by giving you facts: just as we do not gain weight overnight, so too we do not become ill (not speaking of the occasional colds and sniffs) overnight. It is a process that spans over years and it would only be logic to give your body some time to re-adjust and reach a stage of homeostasis.
The rules are simple:
Stay calm. (Our emotions go into overdrive when we are confronted with debilitating illness)

Remove “toxic” thoughts. Being by telling yourself “I can become better and better every day” You are not deceiving yourself, it is possible, therefore your subconscious mind will accept this message. Our incredible Creator gave us all the power to do so, meditate on His promises.

Avoid or minimize contact with toxic people (Do I need to explain?)
Avoid watching world news before going to bed!
Avoid toxic music and violent movies.
Make time for yourself, at least for an hour or two. Do something that will distract your thoughts.
Get a little sunshine and fresh air.
Consume whole foods, smaller regular portions. Lots of water.

Learn to breath. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing, many people hardly notice that they are surviving on shallow breaths. Through the nose and gently out the mouth.

Drink your Essiac tea

How to prepare Essiac tea:
40 grams of pre-mixed herbs
4 Litres of pure, clean water (no more and no less)
Stainless steel pot
Prepared containers for storage

1. Bring the water to boil, remove from stove and add the tea, stir and bring to boil.
2. Cover and bring to boil for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Cover and allow solution to rest for a further 15 minutes.
4. Stir well, cover and bring solution to scalding (do not boil)
5. Remove from heat, stir and cover. Allow solution to settle for 30 minutes
6. Strain the liquid through fine strainer. Cool down
7. Pour into sterilized jars and refrigerate. Do NOT freeze.
8. Take 40 ml in 100 ml warm water (add a dash of lemon juice if desired) on empty stomach (30 min at least) before breakfast or supper, ONCE a day for the first 14 days, thereafter increase to twice a day…it is far more beneficial to use smaller dosages over an extended period.
9. After 3-4 months take a week’s (7 days) rest and begin the process over again, meaning once a day for 14 days, then increase dose to twice daily.
And that’s it…

Thank you Sharon. this is very helpful. For other readers and especially those going through with the protocol, remember that any detox will cause symptoms for a while but they wear off after, be patient by reducing the intake for a while but continue. Even conventional methods cause side effects, sometimes adverse and irreversible.

I am investigating this. I have been battling stage 4 colon cancer since 2009. I have had 120+ chemo treatments and get chemo every other week. The chemo is keeping the cancer in check. I have 2 teeny, teeny not visible to the human eye flicks on my left lung that have not changed in 1 yr. Are you taking it for cancer? Has your oncologist given you the okay? Does it stop the effectiveness of chemo?

Sorry, the recipe above is wrong, after initial boiling for 10 minutes (not 15) you need to keep the mix covered on stove for 10 to 12 hours then reheat in the morning (not boil) before straining the liquid. God bless.

You’re not suppose to strain.
Put both the tea liquid and now wet tea powder sediment into a glass jar because if you strain you lose will some if not all of the slippery elm.
Shake jar well before each use, mixing the tea with the sediment.

I’m very new to this and I just started on the tea 3 days ago that i bought at the health food store and it’s concentrated. The directions say to take 1 Tlb. 2 times a day in hot or cold water, but does not say how much water. So I started with 8oz. to 1 Tlb. on day one and didn’t think it was working, so I decreased the water to 4oz. for 1 Tlb. Now my heart seems to be fluttering a bit much, so I’m going back to 8oz. of water for 1 Tlb. Also, I have been only eating mostly raw veggies and 1 egg for protein, any suggetions for what I should or should not be eating while detoxing?

This is my fourth day taking the liquid. I ordered the ingredients and made it myself following the directions above (My directions did say to leave it 10-12 hours…then reheat to 140 degrees) I was also told to take 3 ounces for the first three days then increase it by an ounce each day. This is the first morning that I have increased the dosage. The effects that I noticed were the laxative effects as well as an overwhelming exhaustion. I will drink more water today, because I know for sure that is part of the problem.

I have been taking Essiac for about two months, 4oz daily. In the beginning I haven’t felt much different or not at all, but for the last few weeks I have been feeling very exhausted for no reason. I haven’t felt this way in many years. I realized it is because of the tea and I decreased my dosage to 2oz per day. I still feel the same, but I will be patient, God willing. My side effects tell me that the remedy is actually working, so I kind of like them 🙂

I have beenh taking it for about 30 yrs.. I had chronic hepatitis where me SGOT liver shouldn’t be over 40 and it got over 2400. The Dr. said they didn’t know what to do , so they sent home with a high does of prednezone and I was in bed for six months. A homepathic Dr told me to take 2 oz twice a day and I would be fine. I did what he said and I was out of bed in about a month and my liver enzymes have stayed in the 20’s to 30”s since 1989. I still take 2 oz twice a day since. I also found to have advanced prostate cancer which I had out in 1990 where they said it was too far advance so they couldn’t get it all.I just wenjt to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester in Minn. and they were puzzled that my PSA is still only .68. I started taking it 3 timews a day and it has gone down to .58 and I think it will continue coming down. I am 83 yrs. old and am very active. Rarely sick. Have been walking 5 days a week for 30 to 50 minutes, belong to Anytime fitness health club where I try to go three times a week,I work at a golf club here and play golf, I have a large yard I keep up.. It is good to keep taking it for over all good health. I hope this give someone some advice. It is the best thing I could have found, or I would have been dead many yurs. ago.

I started taking Essiac tea last year October 2015. I had stomach problems for a month or so. Everything I ate or drank went right through me so obviously my body was not storing any of the nutrients from the food I was eating. I did visit a doctor and was told i would have to have a hospital appointment where they would insert a rectal camera. I am a great believer of herbal remedies, also have a friend who has a Masters in Herbal Medicine who told me about Caisse Formula. So I decided to take that whilst awaiting my hospital appmt. I purchased the original 4 herbs; Burdock root, Sheep Sorrel, Slippery Elm bark and rhubarb root in mixed herbs, as this was version recommended to me by friend. I made up the tea myself by following steps and ensuring that the utensils and amber glass jars were well sterilized first, then i started on the smallest dose, 15ml mixed with a little boiled water, just prior to sleeping. Made sure I did not consume any processed foods or dairy products and drank only bottled water. After 3 days my stomach problem ceased to exist. I followed my friends instructions and carried on taking the Essiac tea for 3 months. After around 2 weeks i did increase the dose to the recommended dose of 30ml mixed with a little boiled water. Side effects: The side effects I have experienced are; frequent trips to the bathroom, No.2’s so I am regular, whereas before I was not. No diarrhoea since day I began taking this, but as i say, just very regular. Slight hair loss, by that i mean, washing hair there is a significant amount of hair left in the sink and hair which comes out in the brush during the course of taking this medicine, for me anyway. After 3 mths, and because I had more money, i started to buy Caisse Formula from the Caisse Formula company in Ireland. Essiaceu.com in tablet for instead of making the tea. I carried on taking it for a few more months then decided to have a break for a few months. Immediately my hair loss problems ceased to exist. Almost one year later and I never did attend that hospital appointment. When i did stop taking Caisse/Essiac I did start eating normally again, or tried to, but found it difficult to eat foods containing spice, a lot of wheat like Shredded Wheat, Granary bread was fine, i found it uncomfortable to consume many dairy products or even sugar. Now i hardly ever use any milk, if I do it’s the Nestle powdered variety. Eggs yes, hardly ever any meat, hardly ever any sugar. I buy a fruit sugar alternative instead. I recently suffered from a great deal of stress which affected my stomach so I have once again started taking Caisse Formula from the company in Ireland. Only the lowest dose, one tablet at night. After 3 days, once again the problem ceased to exist. I am also taking Fulvic/Humic acid in liquid form, which I would highly recommend. I am happy to say that I never once felt nauseas nor did i experience any vomiting whilst taking Essiac tea/Caisse Formula. I really think this was due to me following the rules; like no processed foods, no dairy, drinking lots of bottled water and, definitely leaving a time gap of 3 hours from eating to taking the medication before retiring to bed for the night.

I am beginning a low carb diet to starve the cancer cells and would like to continue the essiac but cannot find any info online about the carb content. Is there anyone out there that knows or can point me in the right direction to find out?

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